TUSCALOOSA,
Alabama — A familiar scenario appeared under a brilliant September sunset
Saturday evening.

Alabama
started slow. The Crimson Tide looked sluggish.

Only
this time, it didn't need to fall behind to learn its lesson as it did a week earlier
at Texas A&M. Alabama eventually snapped to and did what it needed to beat
Colorado State 31-6 in its home
opener.

Yet style
points were lacking as Alabama managed just one offensive touchdown through three
quarters. The offensive struggles came in spite of facing the nation's No. 92
overall defense. The Tide led just 17-6 after the first 45 minutes when it was
out-gaining the Rams just 248-227 while running 17 fewer plays.

"Today was pretty somber," said Kellen Williams, a fifth-year senior who earned his first career start at right guard. "Obviously we didn't perform offensively as well as we're capable of."

It
took a fourth quarter fumble for top-ranked Alabama (3-0) to gain separation. Ram quarterback
Garrett Grayson put the ball on the turf with 12 minutes. Trey DePriest
recovered and on the next snap, AJ McCarron hit a wide open DeAndrew White for
a 30-yard touchdown pass.

A 14-yard touchdown from Blake Sims to Chris Black capped the scoring.

First-half touchdowns
came on a blocked punt and after converting its first fourth down of the season
as the Tide did its share of experimenting with the lineup. True freshman
cornerback Eddie Jackson was among the changes coach Nick Saban promised
earlier in the week.

Running
back T.J. Yeldon, suspended for the first quarter, returned to run for 49 yards on seven carries. His first attempt went for 38 yards.

After
scoring all 17 first-half points in a 10-minute span late the first and early
in the second, Alabama's offense went dry. The next three possessions went
punt-interception-punt as Colorado State put a 45-yard Jared Roberts field goal
on the board with 7:40 left in the third.

“We were ready to go in the fourth quarter; our emotions were through the roof," Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson said. "By that time we realized we were playing with the number one team in the country and we realized that we can play with them. I don’t think the score at the end of the game shows how close it really was, because I felt like it was a lot closer. We were ready to go on that drive and we just had some personnel issues and I just tried to make a play.”

In the second quarter, Dillon
Lee stretched Alabama's streak to three games with a non-offensive touchdown when
he returned a blocked punt 15 yards for a score. Running back
Kenyon Drake broke through the middle to get his hands on the punt.

Cade
Foster missed a 46-yard attempt on the game's first possession, then made one
from the same distance before halftime. They were his first two attempts of the
season.

McCarron completed 20 of 26 passes for 258 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Christion Jones became his favored target with Amari Cooper sidelined with a toe injury. The Minor High product caught nine passes for 90 yards.

Alabama
faces No. 21 Ole Miss next Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Rebels were
idle Saturday after winning at Texas last week.

“Any time you play in a big game and you come out and you want to respect your opponent, I don’t think we did that tonight, especially up front," Williams said. "It’s just a difficult thing coming off an emotional win and then play again.”